Thursday, March 2, 1854. THOMAS CHAPMAN, Esq., F.R.S., in the Chair.

Confirmed the Minutes of the former Meeting, and those of the Finance, Wreck and Reward, and the Life-boat Sub-Committees.

Elected GEORGE LYALL, Esq., a Member of the Committee of Management of the Institution, in the place of his late father.

Voted the silver medal and 21. to coastguard chief-boatman GEORGE FINLAY, and 4t. to his 4 men, for then- services in a coastguard-galley in rescuing, after much difficulty and risk of life, 2 of the crew of the emigrant ship Tayleur, which was wrecked during a gale of wind from S. to S.S.W. on the east point of Lambay Island, on the coast of Dublin, on the 21st Jan. last, when 270 persons met with a watery grave.

Also the silver medal and 1?. to coastguard chief-boatman JAMES FITZPATRICK, and 10s. to another coastguard-man who assisted him, for their exertions n wading into the surf to rescue the master and 3 of the crew of the brig Lady Octavia of Greenock, which was wrecked during a S.W. gale of wind off' Malin Head, on the coast of Donegal, on the 30th Jan. last.

Also the thanks of the Committee, on vellum, to the Rev. OWEN LLOYD WILLIAMS; a letter of thanks to Mr. AUGUSTUS VINCENT (of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company's service); and 51. to 5 men, for their services in the Cemlyn life-boat, in rescuing 17 passengers of the steam-ship Olinda, of Liverpool, which struck during squally weather, late at night, on Harry's Furlong rock, in Holyhead bay, on the 26th Jan.

last. J Also the thanks of the Committee to PHILIP DOHERTY and JAMES WEST, coastguard boatmen at Hartlepool, for their services with the Manby apparatus, to the crew, consisting of 7 men, of the brig Gem, of Peterhead, which was stranded near that place on the 10th Jan. last.

Also 41. 3s., and approved of the like moiety voted by the Local Committee to the crew of the Filey life-boat, for attempting to save the crew of the schooner Margaret, of Newcastle, which during a N.N.E. gale of wind foundered at sea, on the 27th Dec. last.

Also the thanks of the Committee to Lieut. MOLESWORTH, R.M., chief officer of coastguard in charge of Fishergate Station, and to his crew for saving with lines 7 men belonging to the brig Galatea, which was stranded during squally weather near Shoreham, on the 18th Jan. last; and a reward of 21. to THOMAS FORWARD, coastguard boatman, who was injured in the face by the bursting of a rocket on the occasion.

Also 4L 10s. to two coastguard boatmen, and 4 fishermen, for rescuing with a shore boat the crew, consisting of 9 persons, of the brigantine Adolfo, which, during a S.E. gale of wind, was driven on shore in Dundrum Bay, on the 19th Dec. last.

Voted also the special thanks of the Committee on vellum to Mr. R. MAHSTGAY, chief officer of the coastguard at Ardglass, County Down, and bl. to 12 other men, for saving on two trips in a coastguard galley, the crew .of 3 men of the smack Mary, of Douglas, Isle of Man, which, during a S.E. gale, got on the Churn rocks, near Ardgkss, on the 18th Dec. last.

Read a communication from Mr. JOHN NEWTON, of Birmingham, respecting his plan for rescuing life from shipwreck.

Also from Mr. A. G. DILLON, of Dublin, calling attention to a diagram, with a description of a lanthorn which he had invented, for the, purpose of enabling the officers of steamers to telegraph orders at night, and in foggy weather, from the paddle-box bridge to the helmsman.

Read the Inspector of Life-boats' Reports of his visits to the Aldborough and Thorpness life-boat establishments, which he found in an efficient state.

Read letter from the Honorary Secretary at Barmouth, giving favourable accounts of a trial and of the services of the new lifeboat recently placed there by the Shipwreck Institution.

Resolved— 1. That a life-boat and carriage be provided for Skerries, on the coast of Dublin, and that Inspecting Commander IRWIN, ' R.N., be thanked for the Report which he had furnished to the Committee respecting the most eligible spot on which to place a life-boat in that locality. Also that the thanks of the Committee be given to the Hon. THOMAS PRESTON, of Gormanston Castle, and to HENRY ALEXANDER HAMILTON, Esq., of Balbriggan, for their exertions in collecting subscriptions in aid of the establishment.

2. That a favourable opportunity be embraced to place a life-boat at Brighton, and to establish in that town a branch of the Shipwreck Institution.

3. That two life-boats, each being 30 feet long, be ordered to be built by Messrs. FORRESTT, of Limehouse, according to a design recently furnished by Mr. PEAKE, of Her Majesty's Dockyard, Woolwich.

4. That 300Z. from the funded capital of the Institution be sold.

Thursday, March 23, 1854. THOMAS CHAPMAN, Esq., F.R.S., in the Chair.

Confirmed Minutes of the previous Meeting, and those of the Finance and Wreck and Reward Sub-Committees.

Read letter from the Earl of BECTIVE, announcing the death of his father-in-law, Mr. Alderman THOMPSON, M.P., Chairman of the Institution, at Newport, Monmouthshire, on the 10th inst.

Resolved— That the General Committee of the Royal National Shipwreck Institution desire to record their deep regret at the demise of Mr. Alderman THOMPSON, M.P., V.P., whose cordial co-operation in the cause of humanity they had often occasion to appreciate, and by whose lamented death this Institution has been deprived of a most esteemed and valued Chairman.* The Resolution was ordered to be communicated to Mrs. THOMPSON, and to express to her how sincerely the Committee * A brief memoir of the late Mr. Alderman THOMPSON will be found in the Life-Boat Journal, No. 13, p. 127.

condoled with her and her family in their bereavement.

Approved of Mr. J. JUDGE'S estimate of 851. 11s. for building a boat-house for the Dungeness life-boat.

Read and approved the draft of the Annual Report of the Institution, and ordered the balance sheet to be submitted to Mr. BEGBIE, the Auditor.

Decided that the Annual General Meeting of the Institution be held on the 11th April next.

Read letter from Mr. BARTLEMAN, of Tynemouth, stating that the Cullercoats life-boat had saved, on the 19th March, the crew of a fishing coble.

Voted 51. to 10 men who went off in two shore boats to the assistance of 14 of the crew of the ship John o' Gaunt, of Liverpool, which was wrecked, during thick and rainy weather, on the rocks near the Stacks lighthouse, off Holyhead, on the 17th Jan. last.

Also 4!. 18s. to the crews of the Holyhead life-boat and a shore boat, for going off to rescue the crew, consisting of 11 men, of the barque Peninghame, of Belfast, which came on shore near Holyhead new harbour of refuge on the 18th Feb. last.

Thursday, April 11, 1854. THOMAS CHAPMAN, Esq., F.R.S., in the Chair.

Confirmed Minutes of the previous Meeting.

Resolved— That THOMAS BARING, Esq., M.P., be elected the Chairman of the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck.

Thursday, April 11, 1854. The Annual General Meeting of the subscribers and friends of the Royal National Shipwreck Institution was held this day, at the offices, John Street, Adelphi, Captain SHEPHERD, H.C.S., Deputy Master of the Trinity House, Vice-President, in the Chair.

The proceedings of the Meeting will be found recorded in the Life-Boat Journal, No. 12. The Annual Report can be had on application at the office of the Institution.

Thursday, May 4, 1854. THOMAS BARING, Esq., M.P., in the Chair.

Confirmed Minutes of the two previous Meetings, and those of the Finance and Wreck and Reward Sub-Committees.

Read letter from his Grace the President the Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND, K.G., dated from Naples, expressing his deep regret at the death of Mr. Alderman THOMPSON, and stating that he should not be able to take the Chair at the proposed Festival of the Institution to be held on the 17th May.

Elected THOMAS BARING, Esq., M.P., a Vice-President and Trustee of the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck.

Resolved— That the thanks of the Committee be given— 1. To Her Majesty's Board of Ordnance, for their liberality in granting a site of the Ordnance ground at Dungeness on which to erect a house for the life-boat recently placed there by this Institution.

2. To Inspecting Lieut. HOPKINS, R.N., for the trouble which he had taken with the life-boat at Dungeness.

3,. To JAMES HANS HAMILTON, Esq., M.P., for the site of ground required for the life-boat house at Skerries.

4. To Captain HENDERSON, R.N., C.B., Comptroller-General of the Coastguard, for his courtesy in allowing the Dundrum Bay life-boat to be conveyed by a revenue cruizer from Dublin to her station.

Voted 61. to 4 men belonging to the pilot cutter John and Mary, of Aldborough, Suffolk, for their services, in the cutter's boat, to the crew, consisting of 9 men, of the brig Ann and Sarah, of South Shields, which was wrecked during a gale of wind from N.E. by E* on the Whiting Sand, on the 3rd April last.

Also 61. 6s. to the crew of the Filey lifeboat, for their exertions in the boat in rescuing the crew, of 4 persons, of the sloop Comet, of Whitby, which came on shore near that place on the 28th April last. The life-boat having sustained some damages on the occasion, the estimate of 41. for repairing her was approved.

Voted the thanks of the Committee, on vellum, to Mr. PADDON, master of the brig Ellen, of London, for rescuing 55 persons from the burning barque Mahomed Shah, in lat, 40° S. and long. 118° E., on the 19th April, 1853, and safely landing them at Hobart Town, a distance of 2,000 miles.

, Resolved— That, taking into consideration the severe loss which the Shipwreck Institution has sustained by the death of its late Chairman, Mr. Alderman THOMPSON, M.P., and adverting, also, to the continued absence from England of his Grace the President of the Institution, the holding of the public dinner of the Institution be postponed to next year, and that the noblemen and gentlemen who had consented to act as stewards on the occasion be requested to allow their names to be retained for the same office in 1855.

Thursday, June 1, 1854. THOMAS , CHAPMAN, Esq., F.B.S., in the Chair.

Confirmed Minutes of the previous Meeting, and those of the Finance and Wreck and Reward Sub-Committees.

Resolved— That Captain SHEPHERD, H.C.S., Deputy Master of the Trinity House, and Captain W. H. KENNEDY, R.N., Deputy Comp troller-General of the Coastguard, be elected Members of the Committee of Management of the Royal National Shipwreck Institution.

Reported the deaths of HENRY BLANSHARD, Esq., and WILLIAM SKINNER MARSHALL, Esq., late Members of the Committee of Management of the Institution.

Resolved— That the Committee record their sincere regret at the lamented demise of their late valued colleague, W. S. MARSHALL, Esq., who, during a long series of years, cooperated with them in carrying out the objects of the Shipwreck Institution.

The Rev. E. L. BERTHON, of Fareham, called the attention of the Committee to the construction of his collapsing life-boat. A brief description of this boat will be found in the Life-Boat Journal, No. 10, p. 70.

Read a communication from the Rev. THOMAS BAKER, offering to place the Whitbum life-boat under the management of the Shipwreck Institution.—Decided on accepting the same.

Read letter from Mr. THURSTON, of New York, expressing the thanks of the New York Life-Saving Association, for the information which had been furnished him b,y the Shipwreck Institution, relative'to the means used on the coasts of the British Isles in rescuing life from shipwreck.

Read letter from Mr. BARRINGTON, C.E., of Limerick, respecting his life-boat, and laid on the table a plan and model of the same.

Voted II. to a boat's crew for saving the crew of a boat which had foundered during a gale of wind at the entrance of Sullivan's Sound, on the coast of Donegal, on the 27th April last.

Mr. BARTLEMAN, of Tynemouth, reported that the Cullercoats life-boat had been lately twice out to save the crews of fishing cobles.

He also stated that the Trustees of the Port of Tyne Life-Boat Fund had contracted to build a life-boat for Prior's Haven. They had likewise voted lOOi!. towards the Cullercoats life-boat and ways, in addition to a grant of 501. towards the life-boat now building at Blyth-haven.

Instructed the Inspector of Life-boats to proceed to Stockton-on-Tees, and to ascertain the cause of some defects reported to exist in a life-boat recently built at that place from a design furnished by this Institution.

He was also desired to proceed with the life-boat and carriage, when complete, to Skerries, on the coast of Dublin; and on his return to visit the life-boat stations on the coasts of Dorset, Cornwall, and Devon.

Thursday, July 6, 1854. THOMAS CHAPMAN, Esq., F.R.S., in the Chair.

Confirmed Minutes of the previous Meeting, and those of the Finance and Wreck and Reward Sub-Committees.

Read report from Col. TULLOH, R.A., Director of the Carriage Department, at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, giving a favourable account of the new life-boat carriage, constructed by Messrs. RANSOME and SIMS, of Ipswich, under the directions of the Shipwreck Institution, and detailing the result of the trial which had been made with it at Limehouse in his presence. He suggested that the carriage should be returned to the builders, to make one or two alterations in it.

Read and approved the Inspector of Lifeboat's report on the same subject.

Resolved— That Col. TULLOH be thanked for his report, and that the carriage be returned to the builders to make the alterations suggested.

The Woodbridge-haven life-boat (built by the late Mr. PLENTY, of Newbury), not being required on that station, it was decided to offer the boat to the Bideford Life-Boat Committee, to be placed on the Braunton Sands.

Voted ten guineas in aid'of the Hartlepool Seamen's life-boat. A description of this boat will be found at p. 163 of our present number.

Elected THOMAS CHAPMAN, Esq., F.R.S., Deputy-Chairman, a Trustee of the Shipwreck Institution.

Voted 21 to GEORGE and MATTHEW JEFFLES for their services, in their boat, to a man who was upset from a fishing coble during a heavy gale of wind off Goldsborough, near Whitby, on the 2nd June last—another man having unfortunately perished on the occasion—a grant of IL was also given to the men as a recompense for the fishing gear which they lost in going to the assistance of the man.

Thursday, Augusts, 1854. His Grace the President, the Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND, K.G., in the Chair.

Read and confirmed the Minutes of the previous Meeting, and those of the Finance and Wreck and Reward Sub-Committees.

Resolved— That HAMILTON FITZGERALD, Esq., be elected a Vice-President of the-Royal National Shipwreck Institution, in virtue of his munificent donation of one hundred guineas in aid of its funds.

Read letter from his Grace the President, and also a communication from Mr. C. E.

LANG, respecting a plan of a life-boat invented by the late Mr. OLIVER LANG, master shipwright in Her Majesty's Dockyard, Woolwich. A model of the boat was placed on the table. Agreeably to the deceased gentleman's request, the model was ordered to be deposited in the Museum of the United Service Institution, Whitehall.

Read communication from Mr. J. KEARNEY WHITE, chief officer of the coastguard at Tramore, in the county of Waterford, stating the necessity, in consequence of the frequency of wrecks, of a life-boat at that place—Deferred.

Read letter from Mr. NATHAN THOMPSON, of New York, calling the attention of the Committee to his Folding Life-preserving Seat, one of which was submitted by him to the Committee. A description of the seat will be found below.

Lieut. HOPKINS, R.N., reported the completion of the Dungeness life-boat house, which, with the erection of a capstan, for the boat, had cost 97/. 6s.—Ordered to be paid.

Read letter from Mr. TODD, Collector of Harbour Dues, at Peterhead, transmitting a sketch, with a description, of his plan for sending a line from a vessel to the shore, and vice versa.

Read letters from various parties in different parts of the kingdom, acknowledging with thanks copies of the mounted Wreck Chart of the British Isles, which had been forwarded to them from the Institution.

Reported the completion of the life-boat built under the directions of the Institution for the Dublin Ballast Corporation, and that she had been conveyed to her station on board the Trinity House steam-yacht Argus.

Inspecting Commander AUSTEN, R.N., transmitted a draft for 331. 13s. 6rf., being the amount collected locally in aid of the Newcastle, Dundrum Bay, life-boat. The thanks of the Committee were voted to Captain AUSTEN for his zeal and valuable assistance.